Injury List

Michael Ballack

Germany

Age: 33

Position: Central midfielder

Club: Chelsea

Injury: Damaged ligaments to his right ankle during Chelsea's FA Cup final win over Portsmouth in mid-May.

Prognosis: Ballack will miss the entire World Cup as he recovers from this injury.

John Obi-Mikel

Nigeria

Age: 23

Position: Midfielder

Club: Chelsea

Injury: Failed to make a full recovery after undergoing minor knee surgery in early May.

Prognosis: Mikel will not participate in the World Cup after Nigeria team officials confirmed that the midfielder has been dropped from the squad to avoid long-term problems to his knee.

Nani

Portugal

Age: 23

Position: Winger

Club: Manchester United

Injury: Injured his left clavicle during training with Portugal on June 7th.

Prognosis: Officially out of the tournament. The United ace will be replaced by Benfica utility manRuben Amorim.

Andres Iniesta

Spain

Age: 26

Position: Midfielder

Club: Barcelona

Injury: Aggravated his right thigh muscle injury during Spain's friendly win against Poland.

Prognosis: Spain's medical team has confirmed he is doubtful for the group opener against Switzerland.

Alexander Frei

Switzerland

Age: 30

Position: Striker

Club: FC Basel

Injury: Picked up a blow to his ankle in Switzerland's last training session before departure to South Africa.

Prognosis: Swiss coach Ottmar Hitzfield has confirmed Frei will miss the opening game against Spain. Hopeful of return to face Chile in second match.

Didier Drogba

Ivory Coast

Age: 32

Position: Striker

Club: Chelsea

Injury: Fractured his right elbow during Ivory Coast's friendly win over Japan.

Prognosis: Has successfully undergone surgery and has rejoined the squad, but no word yet as to when he will be ready to play.

Rio Ferdinand

England

Age: 32

Position: Centre-back

Club: Manchester United

Injury: Picked up a knock on his knee in a collision with Emile Heskey during training.

Prognosis: Initial reports indicated ligament damage. These were later confirmed and Rio, on crutches, is out of the World Cup.

Andrea Pirlo

AC Milan

Age: 31

Position: Midfielder

Club: AC Milan

Injury: An ankle injury in Italy's 2-1 loss to Mexico in a friendly could ruin the AC Milan man's World Cup.

Prognosis: Unknown at this point. The influential midfielder returned to Milan for medical tests, the outcome of which is not yet known.

Michael Essien

Ghana

Age: 27

Position: Central midfielder

Club: Chelsea

Injury: Recurring problem with left knee ligaments sustained while on international duty with Ghana on January 2010.

Prognosis: Essien will miss the entire World Cup as he recovers from this injury.

Oscar Cardozo

Paraguay

Age: 27

Position: Striker

Club: Benfica

Injury: Struggling to reach full fitness after playing with an ankle injury for the last four games of the Portuguese league campaign.

Prognosis: Still unknown whether he will be fully fit for the World Cup but his agent has indicated that it's unlikely he will be.

Heiko Westermann

Germany

Age: 26

Position: Defender/Midfielder

Club: Schalke

Injury: Recurring knee problem after undergoing surgery in January.

Prognosis: Westermann will miss the entire World Cup as he recovers from this injury.

Jose Bosingwa

Portugal

Age: 27

Position: Defender

Club: Chelsea

Injury: The flaring-up of a persistent knee problem in March necessitated immediate surgery.

Prognosis: Due to his period of recovery after his knee operation, Bosingwa missed the end of the domestic season and will also miss the entire World Cup.

Wilson Palacios

Honduras

Age: 25

Position: Midfielder

Club: Tottenham Hotspur

Injury: Shin damage sustained during a 3-0 friendly defeat to Romania on June 5th.

Prognosis: The Honduras team medical staff have yet to confirm the status of Palacios.

PASSED FIT

Arjen Robben

Netherlands

Age: 26

Position: Winger

Club: Bayern Munich

Injury: Pulled his hamstring in the final minutes of the friendly win over Hungary.

Prognosis: Dutch team physio has declared Robben match fit for the opener against Denmark, but it remains to be seen if coach Bert van Marwijk will select him.

Mauro Camoranesi

Italy

Age: 33

Position: Midfielder

Club: Juventus

Injury: Sprained meniscus in his right knee which he sustained during training.

Prognosis: 'Camo' returned to normal training. Reports suggest he will be fit for Italy's opener against Paraguay.

Julio Cesar

Brazil

Age: 30

Position: Goalkeeper

Club: Inter

Injury: Limped out of the friendly win over Zimbabwe with a back problem.

Prognosis: Julio Cesar has resumed light training. He is expected to be fit for the opening game against North Korea.

Humberto Suazo

Chile

Age: 29

Position: Striker

Club: Monterrey

Injury: Sustained a left thigh muscle injury during friendly encounter against Israel.

Prognosis: 'Chupete' is on track to recovery and coach Marcelo Bielsa is confident he will be ready for the first game against Honduras.

Diego Milito

Argentina

Age: 30

Position: Striker

Club: Inter

Injury: Light ankle sprain during training.

Prognosis: No time has been set as to when he will be able to return to training, but 'El Principe' is expected to recover quickly as it was only a minor injury.